Culver inaugural set for January 12

Governor-elect Chet Culver will be inaugurated on January 12th of 2007, and a prominent Des Moines-area real estate developer who has been a long-time patron to Iowa Democratic candidates will head the Inaugural Committee.

Culver spokesman Brad Anderson says Inauguarl Committee chairs Bill Knapp and his wife, Susan, are essentially starting from scratch. “We have a lot of things we need to do,” Anderson says. “First of all, we need to pick a location. We need to pick a time for the inauguration…So there are a lot odds and ends. There are big things that need to happen and that’s what we’ve asked the people that we’ve assembled to accomplish.”

Their top goals will be raising the money to put on the festivities, including an Inaugural Ball. Any money left over after the gala is over will be donated to a charity — the Youth and Shelter Services Foundation. Anderson says the governor-elect’s wife, Mari Culver, has decided she wants to focus her efforts as First Lady in helping “at risk families.”

Emily Hajek, who served as Culver’s chief campaign fundraiser, has agreed to stay on and be the director of all the inaugural plans.